Question: Solve for $x$ and $y$ using elimination. ${x+4y = 38}$ ${-x-3y = -30}$
We can eliminate $x$ by adding the equations together when the $x$ coefficients have opposite signs. Add the top and bottom equations together. ${y = 8}$ Now that you know ${y = 8}$ , plug it back into $\thinspace {x+4y = 38}\thinspace$ to find $x$ ${x + 4}{(8)}{= 38}$ $x+32 = 38$ $x+32{-32} = 38{-32}$ ${x = 6}$ You can also plug ${y = 8}$ into $\thinspace {-x-3y = -30}\thinspace$ and get the same answer for $x$ : ${-x - 3}{(8)}{= -30}$ ${x = 6}$